A Nation's Heart Beat

The doyen of Gambian journalism Mr Swaebou Conateh has revealed that assassinated journalist, co-publisher of The Point newspaper, and deported Liberia Journalist Kenneth Y Best were the brains behind the proclamation of May 3rd as World Press Freedom day.

Speaking at the Gambia Press Union-organised symposium on the anniversary over the weekend, Mr Conateh said the duo represented the Gambia at the UN conference on freedom of the press in Windhoek, Namibia, in 1993. Hydara and Best were Gambian delegates to the conference, he said.

“The most important point to note is that the late Deyda Hydara and Kenneth Best of The Observer were the representatives of The Gambia Press Union at the conference. They initiated the adoption of this world press freedom day during the conference sessions, and it was adopted by the seminar. Since then, it became adopted by the world body, Unesco itself, and it is now recognised throughout the world as World Press Freedom Day,” he revealed.

Liberian editor Mr. Best founded Gambia’s first daily newspaper… he was deported from Banjul by the Jammeh government

Mr Conateh who spoke at the symposium on behalf of Gambian publishers said “these two were publishers, and as publishers; one can only associate the noble work they have achieve by that proposal of theirs [at the conference].

Swaebou Conateh is the doyen of Gambian journalism currently. He has a lot of history to explain to the young journalists

World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. Since then, 3 May, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day. It is an opportunity to:

In a statement read by Secretary General of Gambia National Commission for Unesco, Yahya Al-Mattarr Jobe, the day is meant to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, assess the state of press freedom throughout the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence, and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Mr Jobe admits that the origin of World Press Freedom day arise from a declaration signed by a group of journalists gathered at a Unesco seminar on “promoting an independent and Pluralistic African media” held in Namibia in 1993. Subsequently he added, “Painstaking lobbying led to the proclamation of 3 May as an international day of press freedom by the United nations general assembly in 1993.

“this year, the international community has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to prepare a long-term agenda fr sustainable development to succeed the Millennium Development Goals when they end in 2015,” said a statement released by Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General, and Ms irina bokova, Director General of Unesco.

In celebrating the 2014 World Press Freedom day, participants at a symposium observed a minute silence in memory of lost colleagues

“Successfully implementing that agenda will require that all populations enjoy the fundamental rights of freedom of opinion and expression… These rights are essential to democracy, transparency, accountability and the rule of law. They are vital for human dignity, social progress and inclusive development,” the message, read to the gathering by Mr Jobe, stated.